Friday, 23 March 2012

1. A pair of hands with filed nails. (Chipped, rough nails are as good as a pair of scissors.)

2. Moisturising conditioner

3. Moisturising leave - in conditioner. (Whether or not you choose to use the same conditioner in (2) is up to you.)

4. Holding agent: Hair Gel/Custard/Pudding

5. Sectioning clips.

6. Spray bottle filled with water.

Optional tools

Shampoo and Deep conditioner if this current session includes clarifying.

Diffuser.

Shampoo brush.

Directions for Wash & Go on Type 4 Coily Hair

1. Section hair into four or more sections (depending on the length of your hair).

2. Apply moisturising conditioner generously to all sections, then allow this to sit. (It is at this point that I finger detangle using the shower spray)

3. Rinse conditioner from each section and immediately apply leave in (and oil included) on soaking wet hair. Ensure each section is entirely saturated from root to tip.

4. Step out of shower (or stay in if you prefer) with dripping wet hair and proceed to apply your holding agent to each section.

5. Install your part where you would prefer for your completed style now.

6. Starting with each section at a time. Select one section that you wish to start working on and part a smaller section about half an inch thick from the rest.

7. Take that 0.5inch section and spray it with more water.

8. Starting at the roots smooth on the gel and work your way up to the tips by keeping that section between your palms (for longer hair) or between two adjoining fingers (for shorter hair).

9. Keep doing this smoothing motion, until you start to see natural demarcations between the coils as they clump. Or as you start to notice the hair fall/relax (pun intended!) by itself.

10. For ultra* defined curls - On seeing the demarcations, piece apart each clump of coils from the rest of the smoothed section. (as if you were pulling a string on a guitar), smoothing that smaller section between your thumb and index finger as you do so. For just defined coils - Just smooth a section till it relaxes, drop it and move onto the next section.

11. Repeat (10) until all the clumps have been separated. Then proceed to the other sections.

12. When completed, do not touch so as not to disturb the coils and allow to air- dry or diffuse. Another optional step for more volume especially on the crown area would be to shake your head from side to side, and then back and front.

With these directions I use the smoothing method, and not so much the raking method. With the smoothing method, I'm able to work with most heavier gels that stiffen up as I apply. (An additional tip, liquid styling gels applied on top of the heavier gel can add slip and even more definition if you have to rake.) I find that I am not able to rake once the gel starts to stiffen as attempting to rake through my hair leads to snaps & pops i.e. breakage.

I tend to favour heavier/ stronger gels for setting my hair. As they guarantee more longevity with the style and less tangles because they hold my coils in place in a co-ordinated fashion. If the coils are held in place then there is less likely to be tangles as the coils are not able to haphazardly mix up with other coils. It's all about keeping some kind of order. Twists or twist-out styles follows a similar logic, because the coils are kept in an organised clump.

I recommend a very good hydrating leave-in conditioner for wash & go's. Ideally it should be one that is able to coil up the ends of the hair or group the coils into clumps together immediately after applying to soaking wet hair and even better if it’s able to do this on dry hair! So test your leave-in on a small section of hair before proceeding to do the entire head. An additional layer of oil over that leave-in conditioner offers further insurance towards retaining the moisture in the hair, reducing tangles and even single strand knots.

If doing a clarifying wash. Coils may not clump as readily afterwards. I would suggest doing a deep-condition to return the moisture back to the coils and promote clumping once again. I love wash and go's and still do them currently to date.I hope to continue to do them in the foreseeable future.

That's not an anomaly. If I use mud-wash to 'clarify' then my coils 'pop' as well. That point was based on general complaints of dryness and in turn lost coils/curls on hair forums and also from my experience with certain clarifiers. May I ask what you use to wash your hair? Diffusing/air-drying basically depends on how I quickly I need to be out of the house and what products I've got in my hair. Good question though. I shall answer this question in more depth as a blog topic on my blog at a later date.

I so agree with you about the dryness after clarifying. My curls disappeared and my hair got frizzy it was out of control. I don't think I will ever use that(curl's)clarifier again. I may just start using ACV to clarify.

That 'anon' was Lita (again, stalking your blog!). I use Anita Grant's shampoo bar, and always ACV. My hair seems pretty happy with that. I co-wash with whatever, these days, Tresemme's Naturals (I'd rather not use cones when co-washing, or not using heat).

Lol.. You know I would totally be stalking yours missy, if you weren't incognito!Anita Grant's shampoo bars are very moisturising. Plus ACV is a great clumper in itself because it closes the cuticles. So it's no surprise you get clumping.